Affliction
by Teulere
Summary: I'd rather be anywhere but here without you. .:Sakura x Deidara:.


**Affliction**

The rain came down in torrents, to the point where Sakura could barely see where she was going. Her hands hung limply at her side, her feet slowly dragging their way through the soaked ground. With every step, she felt herself sink a little further. The metallic smell of blood hung in the air. She remembered a time when the smell use to bother her- now, it had become a part of her everyday life. The smell of her blood mingled with the blood of the dead bodies, their painful expressions forever frozen on their faces.

She squinted, trying to see through the barrage of rain. A flash of lightning illuminated the dark for a split second, before disappearing and engulfing her in dark once again. With the little energy she had left, she was determined to reach the faint source of chakra ahead of her. She felt it diming away with each passing second.

As she approaches, the rain begins to lessen somewhat, and she can just barely make out the dark shape of a body on the wet ground. Her heart quickens at the sight and an onslaught of different emotions find their way into the pit of her stomach as she tries desperately to fend them off.

She takes a couple more cautious steps, and stops beside the body, unsure if it is the person she is expecting. She wants to reach down, to touch him, to make sure he is okay- but the fear of finding a mutilated and broken body scares her, and she is frozen with indecision as to what her next move is going to be. She isn't sure how long she stands there. It could have been seconds, minutes, or even hours. They all feel like years to her.

As her eyes begin to focus on the dark figure in front of her, she can make out little puddles near the body. At first she thinks nothing of them. But within seconds, her eyes widen slightly as she realizes what they are.

She falls to her knees into the blood soaked ground, her entire body shaking. "No," she gasps in disbelief, her voice exhausted and hoarse. She can't keep herself steady as she takes in the sight of the S-class criminal lying before her. She's positive it's him. Although it's been several years since she's seen him, she still recognizes his chakra.

His face is turned away from her, but she can't bring herself to look at him. Years have kept them disconnected from each other, and a part of her says that it's best that things stay this way- she should just forget about him, and go find a hospital for herself. But deep down inside, she knows that she will regret leaving him here. She would spend the rest of her life wondering if he had somehow survived, or if she had left him to his death. She'd been wondering similar things for the past couple of years, and just the thought of being so close to him again made her heart quicken.

She can still feel a dangerously low amount of chakra emitting from his body. Still afraid to touch him, she utters his name and hopes for a response. "Deidara?"

There is an anxious pause and everything around Sakura seems to go silent. She can't even hear the rain anymore. Now, it's just her and the bloody body of an enemy.

Within those few silent seconds, memories begin to flood Sakura, and the emotions come in unstoppable waves. Her body shakes as her mind brings her to a place she's been trying to eradicate from her memory for years. All of a sudden, she can feel his touch again, listen to the sound of his voice, stare into his crystal blue eyes, smell his essence- she shuts her eyes, trying to block the images and the memories out. But they only intensify. Now she can remember how his body felt pressed up against hers and her skin burned when he gently traced patterns along her back, and how they would whisper to each other quietly all night, his breath tickling the back of her neck. They shared everything with one another, even their deepest secrets.

At that moment, she realizes that she cannot lose him. With a shaky hand, she gently turns his face towards her.

The sight of the blood overwhelms her and she has to look away for a moment. She can feel the fear begin to creep up along her back, and the anxiousness build up in her gut. When she composes herself once again, her gaze slowly returns to his face. His eyes are closed, his mouth slightly parted. Blood covers his face, and at this point, she has no idea where it's coming from except for the distinct trail of red liquid trickling down the side of his mouth. She can barely sense his chakra, and she can't make out the movements of his chest to indicate whether or not he is breathing. She gently places her fingertips to his neck to check for a pulse, and can barely feel his heart beat.

She knows what she has to do. Placing her hands above his chest, a light green aura of light appears at her fingertips and she sends whatever meager amount of chakra she has left into his dieing body. She aims it directly towards his heart, and she feels the heartbeat increase slightly. Within seconds, she begins to feel lightheaded, and her vision begins to black. She stops as soon as this starts to happen, and stares fixedly at his face for any signs of movement.

She calls out his name once again. "Deidara?"

She gently wipes blood off of his face as she waits for a response of some kind. When there is none, she begins to panic. "Deidara!" There is an increasing urgency in her voice as she begins to shake his shoulder. "Please, if you can hear me, do something. Let me know you can hear me."

Seconds later, still no response. The panic begins to set in, and she tries desperately to hold it in. She checks his pulse again, and can feel a faint heart beat. "Please," she begs, "Just look at me Deidara!" She looks at the rest of his body, and sees the large gashes in his stomach and the rips in his clothes. His Akatsuki cloak is almost completely destroyed.

She looks back at his face, longing to hear his calming voice, to see those beautiful blue eyes she loved so much. But despite her last ditch efforts and optimistic attitude, she slowly comes to accept the fact that it may be too late for him.

At this thought she shakes her head furiously, holding back the tears as they sting her eyes. The exhaustion and effects of her low levels of chakra are starting to settle in, and she can feel her muscles shutting down and her eyes trying to close. "Deidara!" she screams with dread, and once again she begins to shake his body, no longer able to hold all the tears back as they begin to slide down her cheeks. "You can't die like this…"

For the next few moments, there is still no response.

She drops her head down despondently and watches as the drops from her drenched locks and her tears drip into the bloodied puddle she kneels in. The rain has stopped completely now, and she can see the dulled rays of sun that try to shine through the thick gray clouds that covered the sky.

"You sure sound troubled, yeah."

Her eyes snap wide open at the sound of the weak voice, and her breath catches in her throat.

Slowly lifting her gaze, emerald eyes meet cerulean blue for the first time in five years. In that moment, there was an indescribable exchange of emotions between the two long lost comrades.

"Deidara…" it was a faint whisper looking for reassurance that what was happening in that moment wasn't a dream.

"Sakura." He'd forgotten how good it felt to feel her name roll off his tongue the way it did.

Hearing her name was all Sakura needed. Within seconds, her arms were on Deidara's chest once again, and she tried to force some of her chakra into him. But just as she was about to emit her last little bit of energy, a weak but firm hand grabbed onto her wrist and pushed her arm away.

"None of that, yeah. That won't do anything for me now."

"Don't say that! I can still help you!"

Deidara laughs quietly at her persistence. "You're as stubborn as ever, yeah. Some things don't change." A feeble smile makes its way onto his face, and he takes in the sight of the woman before him. She hadn't changed much from the last time they had seen each other, although she appeared slightly more mature, both mentally and physically. But it made him sad to see her worn out expression. She was completely exhausted, and he could see a good amount of blood seeping through her tattered shirt from multiple places. "You're in pretty bad shape, Sakura."

Sakura shakes her head slightly. "Don't worry about my condition. You're much worse off than me."

"Really? I can't feel anything."

Sakura nods her head. "That's a good thing."

There is another long pause as they both take each other in. "I missed you, yeah."

Sakura smiles at him. "Me too," she says as she gently brushes away blonde hairs away from his face. "I didn't think I'd ever get a chance to see you again." Her hand falls back to her side lifelessly.

Deidara notices the dull look of Sakura's usually bright emerald eyes. She was beyond exhausted, and it seemed as if every word that escaped her mouth drained her of more energy. Deidara knows that if he wants to say anything to her, then this is the right moment. Later might be too late.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you might have wanted them to." He looks at her understandingly, knowing she had strong feelings for him, as he did for her. "Fate's been against us from the very beginning."

"We still have a chance." The tone of her voice didn't convey the confidence of her words, and Deidara could tell.

"I'm not the person you are supposed to be with, Sakura."

A look of surprise meets Deidara's gaze, but he continues. "My actions haven't exactly been outstanding." He pauses. "I'm a bad person, yeah," he whispers, as if he is unsure of it himself.

Sakura looks at him surprised. "See, that's where you're wrong! We've all done bad things; I'm no angel either. But I've seen the caring and gentle side of you, it's there, whether you deny it or not. All those horrible things you've done? I forgive you for all of it. Because that's what people do- they forgive. And you more than anyone deserve forgiveness, and you've earned it. I don't care what other people think. Don't ever let anyone tell you you're a bad person."

Suddenly, a violent fit of coughing overcomes Deidara's injured body, and Sakura quickly puts her hands under his head. More blood is coming out of his mouth, and the last bit of chakra she forced into him was beginning to fade. She began to get alarmed slightly when she realized she had no more to offer because of her condition.

As he regained his breath, Deidara looked up at her dully and whispers, "Listen to me, Sakura."

Sakura nods her head, listening intently to his barely audible words.

"You need to go get help for yourself. Leave me here. Promise me you'll find a hospital." His eyes stare at her coldly. "Promise me."

Deidara can feel Sakura's hands begin to shake slightly under the weight of his head. "No," she outright refused. "There is no way I am leaving you here alone, Deidara." She struggles to hold his head, which feels as if it weighs a thousand pounds. "I'm not going to leave you again."

He starts to feel the anger begin to rise up. "Don't worry about me." He was feeling his body become weaker and he was fighting to keep his eyes opened against the darkness that threatened to envelop him.

There is a moment of silence as they both stare at one another intently, not sure what to do. After a couple of moments, Sakura whispers, "This is no way for us to die." Her gaze looks up at her surroundings, where dozens of corpses are scattered across the clearing, some of them bodies of friends.

When she looks back down to the man dieing in her arms, she sees him smile weakly with whatever ounce of energy he has left in him.

"It's good enough for me," he responds quietly. "I got to see you one last time." And with these last words whispered to the woman he loved, he slips into everlasting darkness.


End file.
